The NY Times tells us that the demand for guano (bird droppings) is rising due to the petroleum-related cost rise for synthetic fertilizer and guano’s increased use as a fertilizer for organic foods. The article gives a very interesting narrative of the effect of guano mining on Peruvian history and the natural environment of the …
Category: Uncategorized
PETA kills chicken course
PETA successfully pressured an upstate New York school to end a well- regarded course in the ecology of food in which willing students raised and slaughtered chickens. It was much like a 4H program but more balanced– vegetarian students were encouraged to address the class, there were lectures on eating less meat, and they were …
Stuffing the Stovepipe
I’ve always loved the expression “Idaho Stovepipers.” These are the half-mad, wild men and women who don Army surplus gear and horde canned goods in the badlands of extreme northwest Idaho. They’re waiting for the Apocalypse. Too bad for you, if you’re not prepared. I have no idea how many Idaho natives or immigrants may …
How to be safe from Velociraptors
I always like XKCD, but this is my new favorite:
Preview Pix
Baby Gyr- Saker tiercel just in from New York, having his first meal at Casa Querencia. Stephen Grant of London Best quality hammer side- lever 12- bore, circa 1880, virtually new and unrestored. It weighs a bit over 7 lbs and is probably a pigeon gun. To quote expert Robert Braden: “After all, it is …
I’m baaack!– links & previews
Spent the last couple of weeks doing a proposal, outline, and sample chapters, for a book I hope will take me back to Kazakhstan. Let’s hope that this turns out better than the last (still in limbo.) But despite brokeness and worry some good stuff has been happening, to say the least. Not only have …
Grackle
Thought I would close out my Friday with this pic of a cocky great-tailed grackle hanging out on our deck.
Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain
So says this article from the Science section of the NY Times. From my perspective in my mid-50s, I find this absolutely believable.
The Condor
I thought I would post this image of the cover of the February issue, just in case you had any questions about how the editorial staff feels about wind turbines.
More Backyard Birds
In this case, a very relaxed Harris’ hawk, fat and sassy in summer mode. I was sitting on the back porch last night reading Dan Manix’s wonderful, self-indulgent A Sporting Chance: Unusual Methods of Hunting. I’ve read the book numerous times; it was one of my early influences, neatly containing short treatises on several interests …